The
Badge of a Mason - APRON CHARGES
The Master Mason - March 1925
Among
the gems to be found in "The Treasury of Masonic Thought," a
book edited by two Brethren of Dundee Lodge, Scotland, the
earnings of which are to be added to the funds of the Lodge for
the erection of a new Temple, we find a series of four Apron
Charges - two for the second degree. In Scottish Lodges, it
seems, the Apron is presented in each of the degrees, and these
charges are given accordingly, choice being made between the two
provided for the second degree. We reproduce them, in order to
spread news of the book, and also as a matter of interest to
American Masons, whose customs are different.
Apron Charge
1ST Degree
As given in Lodge "Dundee St. Mary," No. 1149,
S.C. BROTHER ______ In the name of the Great Architect of the
Universe, and by command of the Right Worshipful Master, I
present and will invest you with the distinguishing badge of a
Mason. it is more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle,
more honourable than the Order of the Thistle, or any other
order in existence, it being the badge of Innocence and the bond
of Friendship, and I would exhort you ever to wear and consider
it as such. It may be that in the coming years upon your brow
may rest the laurel leaves of victory, upon your breast may hang
jewels fit to grace the diadem of an Eastern potentate; nay, more
than these, with light added to the coming light your ambitious
feet may tread round after round of the ladder that leads to
fame in our mystic circles, and even the purple of our
fraternity may rest upon your honoured shoulders. But never
again from mortal hands, never again until your enfranchised
spirit shall have passed upwards and inwards through the pearly
gates, shall any honour so distinguished, so emblematical of
purity and innocence and all perfection be bestowed upon you. It
is yours to wear throughout an honoured life, and at your death
to be placed upon the coffin which shall contain your earthly
remains, and with them laid beneath the silent clods of the
valley. May its pure and spotless surface be an ever-present
reminder of a purity of life and rectitude of conduct, a
never-ending argument for nobler deeds, higher thoughts, and
greater achievements, and when at last your weary feet shall
have reached the end of life's toilsome journey, and from your
nerveless grasp shall drop for ever the working tools of life,
may the record of your life and actions be as pure and spotless
as this fair emblem with which I am about to invest you. And at
last when your trembling soul shall stand naked and alone before
the Great White Throne, may it be your portion to bear from Him
who sitteth as judge Supreme the welcome words, "Well done, good
and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." You
will observe that this badge is made of lambskin, and as the
lamb has been in all ages the acknowledged emblem of innocence
and purity, it will remind you of that purity of life and action
which should at all times characterise Freemasons. I trust you
will live many years to wear this badge (invests candidate) with
credit to yourself, usefulness to mankind, and an honour to the
Lodge of which this night you have become a member; and I would
further exhort you never to disgrace that badge, for you can rest
assured it never disgrace you."So Mote It
Be. APRON CHARGE, 2ND DEGREE
As given in Lodge
"Dundee St. Mary," No. 1149, S.C. IN THE NAME of the
G.G.O.T.U., and by command of the R.W.M. I now invest you with
the distinguishing badge of a F.O.T.C. This badge is bestowed in
recognition of the progress you have made in the Science, and it
is but right that for each degree there should be a distinctive
badge, for you have now completed your apprenticeship, and have
passed from being a HAND to an intelligent HEAD AND HAND -
having learnt the ART of building, you now turn to the study of
the SCIENCE of building and design. The process of life,
the perennial stability of the Universe, and the manifold
activities of Nature, are all governed by fundamental principles.
We, in our human ignorance, are but vaguely aware of the driving
force, the omnipotent factor which correlates seemingly opposing
phenomena, which unites divergent interests into a common path
in the furtherance of the Divine will. You and I, my
brother, are but atoms in the Universe, links in the unbroken
chain of mankind. Each has his part to play, not only in the
acquisition of his own personal supreme good, but in the
carrying out of the Divine plan. Freemasonry teaches you
the means whereby you may try to emulate in your own sphere the
Guiding Force of the Universe by bringing to your notice the
Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, and I would solemnIy and
earnestly entreat you to give them your most careful study. For
he who call claim even a superficial knowledge of these call
well claim to be an educated man, and is thus on the high road
to the acquisition of that genuine culture which is only
attained by the building up of character through
knowledge. In ascending the second rung of the ladder of
Freemasonry, you have made noble progress, for, carrying with
you the fruits and lessons of your previous step - that of the
labourer - you are now, elevated to the degree of the thinker,
and the task to which you are to devote yourself is so to
develop and render lustrous your intellectual faculties, as to
reflect in the small universe of your own individuality such a
pleasing perfection of order and harmony as prevails throughout
the immense Universe which is ordered by the G. G. So is
the corner of your apron turned up that it may not impede you in
the pursuit of that end which I have outlined. And when at last
you reach the goal, having accomplished your task, and stand
before the Ancient S.W. in that Grand Lodge above, may you be
able to place within the folds of your apron your just reward -
the rich and lasting treasures of Masonic industry and
zeal. So Mote It Be. APRON CHARGE, SECOND
DEGREE
As given in Lodge "Dundee St. Mary," No. 1149,
S.C. BROTHER _____, In the name of the Grand Geometrician of
the Universe, and by command of the R.W.M., I will invest you
with the distinguishing badge of a F.O.T.C. Mason. This badge is
bestowed in recognition of the progress you have made in the
Science, but you are not to suppose that your progress is now at
all end. There still remains much that you must do and
learn.
"Let no man think that suddenly in a minute All is
accomplished and the work is done; Though with thine earliest
dawn thou should'st begin it, Scarce were it elided with thy
setting sun."
The manner in which the F.O.T.C. wears his
apron is in itself a suggestion of further work and progress.
The corner is turned tip in order that the apron may not impede
your movements as you strive after the privileges which may
still be won. The virtues which you should cultivate and
exercise with a view to further progress are the intellectual
virtues. These you call best employ by making the "Liberal Arts
and Sciences," your constant and careful study. From time
immemorial the Seven Liberal Arts have been viewed as a means
whereby man is assisted to win the mastery over self and
circumstance, and to secure the glorious heritage of wisdom and
virtue. One of the wise men of the twelfth century wrote a
beautiful allegory to show how the soul may be carried to the
very gate of heaven with the help of the Seven Liberal Arts. The
Arts - so runs the allegory - fashioned a chariot. Grammar
formed the pole which goes before the axle-tree, Logic made the
axle-tree, and Rhetoric adorned the pole with gems and the
axle-tree with flowers. Then Arithmetic constructed one wheel,
Music the second, Geometry the third, and the fourth wheel was
made by Astronomy. To this chariot there were yoked the five
Senses - Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch. Reason mounted
with Prudence as a companion and soared off amid the plaudits of
all the other gifts and graces. They flew, past the
citadel of the sun, through the regions where Venus and Mercury
sing together, and where Lucifer proclaims, with a shout, the
advent of the dawn. Onward they went, past the Palace of Mars
seething with fire and wrath, onward to the glad light and
unhurtful flames of Jupiter, onward to Saturn's bright sphere.
They ascended the stellar region where the pole-stars contend in
brightness, and where they beheld Hercules and Orion, Leda's
twins, the Fiery Crab, the Lion, and all the rest of the
Zodiac's constellations. Here at length the chariot halted. It
could ascend higher, but it had halted at the gleaming gates of
the Celestial Realm. Thus far had Reason and Prudence been borne
by the Seven Liberal Arts - to Heaven's gate. It is with
like purpose that you, as a F.O.T.C. are urged to cultivate those
Liberal Arts in Masonic symbolism as in the allegory of which I
have told you. They are represented as a means of raising men to
the altitudes of knowledge. The allegory depicted them as a
chariot, but we depict them as a stairway which the eager
F.O.T.C. ascends, to reach the Middle Chamber of King Solomon's
Temple, there to receive the reward. The ancient
arithmeticians taught that seven was a perfect number, the
symbol of completeness; thus the Seven Liberal Arts represent
the whole compendium of human knowledge, and in recommending
them to your attention we are urging you to acquire all the
knowledge you can, for we believe that by so doing you will
discover that the vast universe is planned by the Grand
Geometrician upon the principles of Order, Symmetry, and
Rectitude; and when you realise that these sublime principles
dominate the whole universe, and are perfectly expressed alike
in the orbits of the whirling masses and in the movements of the
tiny atoms, you will desire that the small universe of your own
life should reflect the order and harmony of the immense
universe within which you are placed; so seeking and striving
you will not be disappointed. As the apron you now wear suggests
that you are expected to advance without "let or hindrance," it
also suggests that you will receive at the end the due reward of
your labour, and into the fold of your apron there will be
poured the rich and lasting treasures of Masonic industry and
zeal. So Mote It Be. APRON CHARGE, 3RD
DEGREE
As given in Lodge "Dundee St. Mary," No. 1149,
S.C. THE NAME, of the M.H. and by command of the R.W.M., I
now invest you with the badge of a M.O.T.C. While this badge no
doubt indicates that you have attained to the Sublime Degree, it
also remind you of the duties devolving upon you. Remember true
dignity and honour are best maintained by a faithful study of
our art, by an earnest endeavour to do your part in the great
work of Masonry, and by ever remembering the complete five
points of fellowship, those grand connecting links of love and
duty which unite Masons one to another throughout the
Globe. Masonry regards the man, not the garb he wears, the
house he lives in, or the luxuries with which he surrounds
himself. The great Fraternity therefore ordains that all its
votaries shall be clothed alike - with an apron. For each Mason
an Apron - for each Apron a meaning. The colour of the apron is
white, the perfection of all colour is white, and white and
spotless, shining like crystal in the noon-day sun must be the
hearts and lives of all who wear it. But, Brethren, each
of you wear two aprons, - one is visible, one invisible. One is
our symbolic gift to you, the first gift of Masonry, coming from
the lamb, decay-doomed, as all things material are. The other
the gift of the Omnipotent, spiritual, undecaying, eternal. Man
seeth one, God seeth both. The one which we have given you will,
when your life's work is o'er, be worn and stained, tarnished,
discoloured, and torn, and honour shall be measured unto you in
accordance with the unselfish work which you have given in so
soiling it. But look to it, as you value life, - and life again,
that you keep the unseen (seen only by the M.H.) pure and
spotless. For the day shall come when the apron which we have
given you, having found its last rest with your earthly remains
'neath the silent clods of the valley, shall be seen no more;
but when the unseen garment, with which One greater than I this
day invests you, shall be seen by all men, living and dead
alike, to your glory or your shame, my Brethren, even as you
have worn it. Strive, therefore, to penetrate the veil which
enshrouds the true secrets of our Order, realise the beauteous
perfection of its tenets, and realising them you will not fall
in your endeavours to live the life of a true Mason. So Mote
It Be. back to top
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